


Riverdale Imagines

by ScarlettLyone



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-27
Updated: 2017-06-27
Packaged: 2018-11-19 18:22:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 14,252
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11319030
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ScarlettLyone/pseuds/ScarlettLyone
Summary: Hey everyone! I run a Riverdale Imagines blog on Tumblr, riverdalewritings.tumblr.com. I've had a lot of requests to post my imagines on AO3, and I've decided to do it :) All my imagines already posted will be posted on here in a few days, and any new imagines I write will also be posted in both places. Got a request? Write me a message on Tumblr!





	1. Surface Tension (Jughead Jones/Reader)

**Author's Note:**

> Archie's younger sister (you) is a sophomore in high school, and loves hanging out with Archie and his friends. Except Jughead, who she hates. It's all good though, because Jughead hates her back. Until, that is, Archie forces them to become friends, where they reveal their true feelings towards each other.

“Hey, (Y/N)!” my older brother’s voice rang out from our foyer. I knew that there were siblings who never got along, but Archie and I were best friends. Thankfully, I was friends with all of his friends too, and everyone got along great. Well, except one, that is. Forsythe Pendleton Jones III, or as our friends stupidly called him, Jughead. I don’t know why he and I didn’t get along. Archie told me once that it was due to him and I being too similar, meaning sarcastic and tough. That much was true, but I hated being compared to Jughead.

I walked out into our foyer, excited to see everyone. Archie was usually always late from school, either because of music or football practice, and Betty and Ronnie were always at cheerleading, so it wasn’t often that I got to hang out with them. When I turned the corner, I was met with Betty’s smiling face, and Archie, holding bags of food from Pop’s.

“(Y/N)!” Betty opened her arms and I went to hug her. “I feel like it’s been so long since we’ve hung out.”

“Pfft, we saw her five days ago,” Veronica answered with a roll of her eyes, but when Betty pulled away, she smiled. “My turn.” She hugged me too, her cape that I loved enveloping my shoulders.

When we had finished our greetings, I made a move to say hi to Archie, but to my horror, I made eye contact with none other than Jughead. He was hanging behind Archie, uncomfortable. Archie, bless him, had been trying to get us to like each other for years, but it had never worked.

Archie nudged Jughead’s shoulder, obviously so Jughead would say hi to me, and, in his way, he did.

“Sophomore,” he bit out, like the word was poisoned.

“Forsythe,” I shot back, my eyebrow arched. He rolled his eyes and looked at the ground.

“Um..” Betty tried to cut through the tension, but didn’t know what else to say. She looked at Archie, wide eyed, and shrugged.

“We’re going to hang out, (Y/N), if you want to join us. I got food,” Archie said, trying his best to be the mediator. He glanced at Jughead, who, eyes still on the ground, looked like he wanted to be anywhere but here.

“Yeah, yeah. I will! Definitely.” I smiled, trying to reassure my brother, but I heard Jughead sigh. Archie rolled his eyes and shook his head, and started leading everyone up to his room, me behind him, followed by Veronica and Betty, and of course, Jughead, lastly, as usual.

When we got settled, Ronnie and I at the head of Archie’s bed, Betty sat in the middle, and Archie and Jughead on chairs, the food was passed around. I immediately grabbed for the fries, everyone knowing they were my weakness. Of course, Jughead took most of the food, which I was pretty sure was the only thing he liked.

We talked about school and our classes, and how Archie’s music was going. He was working on some new stuff, and was meeting with Josie in a few days to go over it, and promised to share it with us soon. But, of course, the conversation soon turned to the Blossom’s, and Jason’s murder that had rocked our small little town. It still scared me a little, but I would never show it. It was a touchy subject, especially with Betty, but she wanted to know how Jughead’s book was going. His stupid book, which was all he could talk about.

“It’s going well,” he responded, eyebrows knit together like he was really thinking hard. “You know, uncovering the truths from all the phonies in this town is the best part.” When he said that, I literally laughed out loud.

“Ok, Holden Caulfield,” I said, rolling my eyes. He was so dramatic.

“Oh, like you could do better,” he snapped.

“Yeah, Jones, I probably could,” was my rebuttal, amongst the sighs from Betty, Ronnie, and Archie. They hated when Jughead and I fought, but it always happened. I felt bad for them, but Jughead got on my nerves constantly. He was saying something now, too, but I decided to tune him out, in favor of finishing my french fries. Just to get more on his nerves, I decided to pretend after his spiel that I really hadn’t heard him at all.

When he finished, I looked back to him and said, “Hm? What was that? I couldn’t hear you over my eternal hope that you would shut up.” He was going to say something back, but it was then that Archie stood up, clearly having enough.

“That’s it, guys, I’m serious. You’re both my friends, and this has gone on for way too long. You both act ridiculous, and there isn’t even a reason you two should hate each other in the first place. Betty, Ronnie, and I are leaving you guys here until you make up and become civil to each other, and I don’t care if it takes all night. We’re all so sick of you arguing. So, what do you say? Can you do that for me, please?” Archie look towards me, clearly exasperated, and I felt so bad, but I couldn’t stand being within 50 feet of Jughead. How was I supposed to take being in the same room alone with him?

“(Y/N)?” Archie urged, eyes pleading. I sighed.

“I’m sorry Arch, but to quote Hamlet, act three, scene three, line 92, ‘no’.” I punctuated the word “no” and looked right at Jughead when I said it. He was looking at me, and when I gave my answer, he clenched his jaw and looked away. I got up off the bed to leave, but Archie stood in front of me.

“I’m sorry, (Y/N), but I don’t see any other way we can get passed this. Come on Bets, Ronnie. We can watch TV downstairs.” Betty and Veronica both looked at me and smiled, but I could tell it was out of sympathy. I couldn’t believe this. My best friends leaving me in a room, alone, with Jughead. I don’t know if I’d ever forgive them.

They all walked out and Archie shut the door lightly. Jughead paced his room, not looking at me, and I settled back on Archie’s bed, sighing as I did.

“Well, Forsythe, looks like we’re in for a long night.”

“Which is exactly the opposite of what I ever wanted with you.” He didn’t stop pacing, arms crossed in front of him.

I decided to let that one go, because, truly, I did feel bad for Archie. It honestly had to be terrible for him, to see his best friend and his sister go at it week after week. Maybe, maybe, there would be some way I could start to hate Jughead less.

“Listen,” I said, after a few moments of silence. “I’m only doing this for Archie’s benefit, ok? I feel bad for him, and maybe we are ridiculous. I never want to be friends with you, but maybe we can find some common ground, so we can stop fighting like cats and dogs.”

Jughead sighed, but stopped his pacing and sat back down on his chair, backwards. After a few seconds passed, he looked at me. “What do you suggest?”

“Maybe.. I don’t know. Maybe we could list things we don’t hate about each other,” I threw out, saying the first thing that came to mind. Jughead just looked at me, eyebrows furrowed.

“Well? Go ahead,” he said, gesturing with his hand, after another few seconds passed.

“Wait, why do I have to go first? The gentlemanly thing to do would be for you to go first, Jones.”

“No one ever said I was a gentleman.”

“Well, you got me there” I retorted, before going silent again. I thought for a few moments, on what I could possibly say about Jughead that wasn’t mean. The only thing that came to mind was, “I like your hat, I guess.”

“You, what? Say again?” I sighed, because he had obviously heard me.

“I LIKE YOUR HAT,” I said louder, “even if it does make you look like Goober Pyle from The Andy Griffith Show..”

“Gee, thanks so much. Uh..god. Let’s see. You don’t have the worst fashion sense I’ve ever seen.”

“You’re too kind,” I deadpanned. But, if truth be told, I was kind of enjoying this. It was, almost nice, to talk to Jughead, instead of yelling at him.. We traded a few more “compliments” until it was his turn again, and all I can say is that he hit me with a bombshell.

“I guess, some people could say, in the right light, you’re,” he sighed, “..attractive.” He looked at me, expectantly, curiously, before cutting in again. “Well? You could say I’m attractive.”

“You are, attractive,” and, wait, what? I hadn’t meant to say that. I hadn’t ever meant to admit that. Yes, ok, maybe deep down, deep, deep down, I had some feelings for Jughead, but annoyance was what I always felt the most. But, now, I wasn’t too sure..

We both stared at each other, unsure of what to do next. The tension in the room was thick, palpable, and we both let it sit there, simmering, until Jughead got up, walked over, and sat on the bed next to me. He looked down at the floor, at his feet, and twisted his hands together. He sighed, seemingly collecting himself, before he spoke again.

“Listen, I don’t know how this, thing, started between us. When I first met you, I just thought of you as Archie’s little sister.” I gave out a huff at that, which caused Jughead to turn and look at me.

“No, listen,” he started again. “You were Archie’s little sister, you know? And then, I don’t know. Somewhere along the way, I guess I started having feelings for you. I’ve never had feelings for anyone, ok? And it scared me, because, of all people, I started liking my best friend’s sister. And it felt wrong, and I didn’t know how to handle it, so I just started lashing out at you, which you gave right back to me, and it dissolved into this. So, I guess this is me, apologizing, and telling you that, I…like you.” He looked into my eyes, but I was too dumbfounded to answer. I could see worry flash across his face, and he tore his gaze away from me.

“Aaaaand this is me leaving.” He made a move to get up, but my hand shot out to grab his arm and pull him back down.

“Jug,” I started, but never finished. I didn’t know what to say. Everything he had just admitted was exactly what I had felt, too, and it took him saying it for me to realize. I stared into his eyes, searching, and, at a loss, I leaned in.

Only once had I ever dreamed of kissing Jughead. It was two summer’s ago, when all of us were hanging out and swimming at a friend of Archie’s pool, and someone said something that had made Jughead laugh. I had never seen him look carefree before, and for a split moment, I thought about how beautiful he had looked, all his stress forgotten. But I pushed that feeling down, away, because we hated, or, I thought we hated each other, and that was how it was supposed to be.

I never knew his lips would be this soft, or that he could be this gentle, letting me lead the way, to not step over any boundaries. I moved my arm up his chest to his neck, bringing him closer, relishing the way we moved together, so in sync. He moved his hands to the small of my back and shifted, getting closer. We got so caught up in the moment that we didn’t hear the door creak open, until it was too late.

“What the hell?”

Jughead whipped around, frightened at Archie’s voice. “Um..” was the only thing he could muster.

“We’re um..” I said, trying to talk my way out of the situation. “You said you wanted us to get along so..”

“Uh, yeah! Get along, as friends! Not make out on my BED!” Archie gestured towards us frantically, and his yelling brought Betty and Veronica up to his room, too.

“Oh my god, they were making out?! This is amazing! Move.” Veronica burst into Archie’s room, towing Betty along with her, who had her eyes cast down to the floor. They made their way over to me, and Ronnie grasped my hand and yanked me up.

“You can talk to her later, lover boy,” she said to Jughead, “but girl, right now, you’re coming with me.” She yanked both Betty and I out of the room, and dragged me into mine, leaving Archie and Jughead alone.

Jughead walked over to Archie, and could only muster “sorry”. After a few seconds, Archie’s expression softened, dissolving into a smile. He threw his arm around Jughead’s shoulder, and said, with a shake of his head, “Dude, I knew it.”


	2. Best Frenemies (Jughead Jones/Reader)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jughead takes notice of a new girl in town, and is drawn to her. His friends notice, and push him to talk to her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was requested on Tumblr! Have a request? Send me a message on riverdalewritings.tumblr.com.

“You’re brooding more than usual,” Veronica said, staring at Jughead, who was currently slunk down low in their booth at Pop’s. His arms were crossed and he was staring out the window, eyebrows knit together. He made a noncommittal noise in response.

“Is there a reason why…?” she tried again, but Archie answered for him.

“I think it’s about that new girl, (Y/N). The one Betty gave a tour to this morning.” Archie ventured a look over at Jughead, but he made no movement. “He couldn’t take his eyes off of her in English class today.” Archie smirked, but Jughead still said nothing.

”Ohhhhh her!” Kevin answered, excited. “She seems nice. I loved that drop necklace she was wearing. The intricate one with all the black stones in it. And she had the coolest sunglasses. You know, the cat eye ones? Except the cat eye part extended out to look like wings. Very Jeremy Scott.”

Jughead rolled his eyes, but it was all true. He was thinking about (Y/N). He had been, since she first walked into the lounge area in school with Betty that morning. They had only been introduced briefly, nothing more than a shared smile and a greeting, but that was all it took for Jughead to know that he was, well, intrigued, to say the least. He had been thinking of ways to talk to her, rolling through all the options in his mind, but he came up blank.

“Do you really like her, Jug?” Betty asked, softly. She had never known Jughead to have feelings for someone, but if he did now, she wanted him to do something about it. Veronica was rubbing off on her.

Jughead tilted his head back, closed his eyes, and sat up. He ran his hands down his face, thinking. Him and, feelings, didn’t really, mix. But how else could he explain what he was feeling? He certainly wanted to get to know her, and she was definitely pretty, prettier than anyone in Riverdale..

“Yeah,” Jughead finally answered. “I do.” He dropped his hands to the table and looked at his friends. “She’s..interesting. Different. Different from what Riverdale usually turns out,” he paused. “No offense.”

“Well, that’s great, Juggie! Especially now,” Veronica said, with a smile on her face.

“Wait, why right now..?” Jughead ventured, following Ronnie’s gaze to the door.

“Because she just walked in. And you’re going to go talk to her.”

“No! I mean, no. Not yet. I..I wouldn’t know what to say,” Jughead tried, but no one said anything. “Guys, c’mon.”

“Well, you can either go over to the booth she just sat in, or I can invite her to sit with us, and who knows what we would say, Juggie?” Veronica said, smirking.

“You can’t be serious.” But, Jughead knew, judging by her expression, she was. Even Betty was trying to hide a smile, and Kevin would definitely side with them. Maybe Archie would understand…

“You don’t agree with them, do ya’ pal? Best friend?” Jughead tried to goad Archie into agreeing with him, but it was futile.

Veronica, mock gasping, put her hand over her heart. “I’m not your best friend?”

“No,” Jughead shot her a look. “You’re my worst friend.”

Archie laughed, and pulled on Jughead’s arm. “C’mon, man. It won’t be bad. You can just talk to her for a few minutes, and then you can come right back.”

Jughead rolled his eyes, but knew that he’d get nowhere if he kept protesting. He climbed up over the back of the booth, and hopped down to the floor. Steeling himself, taking a deep breath, he walked over to where (Y/N) was sitting, only a few booths down.

“Um, hi..”

(Y/N) looked up, surprised. “Oh! Hi! We met today, sort of, right? Sorry but, I don’t really remember your name.”

“Jughead.. Jones. Jughead Jones. The third,” was what stuttered out. “Can I, um?” he gestured to the empty seat opposite of her.

“Yeah! Yeah, go ahead. But you wouldn’t rather sit with your friends?”

“Um, no…” Jughead sat down and glanced forward, towards his friends, who were all intently looking at him. Kevin was mouthing something, and Veronica was giving him a thumbs up. Turning his gaze back on (Y/N), he noticed she was wearing a Metallica band tee.

“I like your shirt.”

“Hm?” (Y/N) glanced down. “Oh, thanks.”

“Not a lot of people around here listen to metal music, so, you know. That’s cool.” God, he felt awkward.

“I mean, all my friends do, so. You know. Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath..” (Y/N) trailed off.

“Right.” Jughead looked down at his hands. He was blowing it. He knew that. He was thinking about standing up and leaving, until he heard (Y/N) giggle.

“You’re cute,” she said, smirking at him. “So, what do you like? What are your hobbies?”

“Um,” he drummed his fingers on the table. “I’m writing a novel. About this town. A neo-noir, murder mystery..kind of thing.”

“Cool,” (Y/N) nodded along, a half smile on her face. “Maybe I could, read some of it, some time? Or we could chill at my place, listen to some records..”

“Or we could do that now,” Jughead blurted out.

(Y/N) laughed. “Do you think your friends would mind?” she asked, glancing backwards towards the booth Archie, Kevin, Betty, and Veronica were all sitting in.

“No, no. They, um, actually made me come over here to talk to you in the first place. Well, no. They didn’t make me, I wanted to, I just. I want to get to know you, and they helped me do that,” Jughead said, a small smile on his lips.

“Well then, come on. Let’s go.”

“Gladly.”

They had to walk past his friends to get to the door, and Jughead stopped for a moment, bending down. “You’re all lucky that it worked out, because now I won’t have to kill you all.” He stood up and walked back over to (Y/N) to leave, walking out of Pop’s door to the sounds of cheers and kissing noises from his worst, and, alright, best, friends.


	3. The Blonde Leading the Blind (Jughead Jones/Reader)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Betty, Veronica, and Archie know that (Y/N) and Jughead have feelings for each other. Is there any better way to get them together, than by making them go on a blind date?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was requested on Tumblr! Got a request? Message me at riverdalewritings.tumblr.com!

“Hey, (Y/N),” Betty said, causing me to tear away my eyes from Jughead. He was working on his book, as per usual, and I was pretending to be working on some homework I had. Jughead was my friend, one of my best friends, and I had had feelings for him for years. The only problem was, I felt that I had to keep it a secret. I had seen what Betty and Archie went through, and I wouldn’t be able to stand that if that happened to Jughead and I.

“Oh, hey Betty! Ronnie. What’s up?” I didn’t miss Veronica look from me to Jughead, the traces of a smirk on her face.

“Oh, nothing,” Veronica replied, sitting down in front of me. “Betty and I were just wondering, would you ever say yes to a blind date?”

“Um..” I cleared my throat. “What?”

“We just, _know_ , of a guy,” Betty said, shrugging her shoulders for emphasis, “who might be your perfect match. That’s all.”

“Well, do I get to know who this guy is?”

Veronica rolled her eyes. “That’s why it’s called _blind_ date, (Y/N). You don’t get to know who it is! Then that would just be a date.”

“Come on! It’ll be fun. You can come over to my house, and I’ll do your hair, and V can choose something for you to wear.. And then, if you’re not into it, you can text one of us, and we’ll get you.”

“That’s nice for you to offer Betts, but..”

“But nothing. I’m not taking no for an answer, and neither is B. Are you?” Veronica looked over at Betty and smiled, answering for her. “No, she isn’t, so you don’t have a choice. See you Saturday!”

I started to protest, but it was no use. Both girls had gotten up and, waving goodbye, walked out of the study room.

 

“So?” Archie asked, impatient.

“Good to go. She didn’t exactly say yes, but..”

“But V goaded her into it, and she didn’t refuse, so..”

Archie sighed and leaned against a row of lockers. “You girls had the easy part. (Y/N) mostly goes along with anything. But getting Jug to agree with this..”

“Are you sure he still likes (Y/N)?” Veronica cut in, clearing showing that she was still semi-new in Riverdale.

Betty and Archie both nodded their heads. “Jughead’s been crushing on (Y/N) since the third grade, when she told him that she liked his beanie, and that she wanted a crown so they could get married and be prince and princess,” Archie answered, a little agitated.

“It was adorable,” Betty added, smiling.

“That is cute..but I have one question. Jughead’s had that same hat since the _third grade_?”

“Since first,” Archie and Betty answered at the same time. “I think he’s learned how to sew, so that way when one starts ripping he just makes another one,” Archie continued. He moved up off the lockers and peered around the door frame, looking at (Y/N) and Jughead. They definitely would make a good couple.. Archie just hoped that (Y/N) liked Jughead too. This whole plan could go very wrong, very fast.

“Alright, I guess I gotta go talk to Jughead. Wish me luck.” But Archie was already walking away before Betty or Veronica could answer.

 

“Hey, uh, Jug? Could we, um, talk? For a minute?” Archie sat down across from Jughead, who was staring intently at his laptop screen.

“What’s up pal?”

“I was wondering, you know, well. Uh, you see, I was thinking about it, and um, you haven’t dated anyone in a while, or, well, I guess _ever_ really, but, anyway, this Saturday, what, uh,” Archie coughed a little, trying to think of how to frame the question. When nothing came to mind, he just blurted it out. “What do you think about going on a blind date?”

This got Jughead’s attention. Stopping his typing, he froze, and slowly looked up at Archie. “A..blind..date..” was all he said.

“Yeah! Yeah. A blind, um, date.”

“Who with?” Jughead asked, folding his arms across his chest and leaning back against his chair.

“Well, I can’t tell you who. See, that just goes against the blind part..”

“I understand the concept of a blind date, Arch. But,” Jug shook his head, “I’m not going unless you tell me who it’s with.”

Archie sighed, knowing that Jughead wouldn’t budge unless he gave him an answer. “Alright, listen,” he finally said, lowering his voice and leaning towards Jughead. “I’ll tell you, but you have to swear you won’t say anything to Betty or Ronnie.” Archie paused, and glanced backwards towards (Y/N), making sure she wasn’t looking over. He turned back around, and whispered out her name.

“(Y/N), hm? And what makes you three so certain that I like (Y/N)?” Jughead asked, quirking an eyebrow.

“Oh, come on man. _Everyone_ knows you like (Y/N), except her, apparently.”

The side of Jughead’s mouth twitched, him obviously keeping in a smile, but he uncrossed his arms and rested them on the table. “Ok.”

“Ok? You’ll _go_?”

Jughead lifted his eyebrow and made a gesture with his head. “Yeah. I said ok. I’ll go.”

“Great! Great, Jug. I’ve got one question though,” Archie said, standing up from the chair. “Would you have gone, if I said anyone else besides (Y/N)?”

Jughead nodded like he was answering yes, but instead, all he uttered was ‘no’. He let out a little laugh, and returned his attention to his laptop screen. He couldn’t type anymore, though. His only thoughts were on (Y/N), and on Saturday.

 

“I still think you should have worn the red heels..” Veronica said, looking down at my feet. I rolled my eyes.

“We’re at a photography museum, Ronnie. My oxfords are fine. And they’re Franco Sarto, so that should count for something.”

Veronica’s phone beeped and she looked away, pulling it out of her purse to see what it was.

“You look great, (Y/N). Really pretty.” Betty smiled at me and fixed my hair a little bit, making sure everything looked perfect.

“They’re here. Archie just dropped off Ju…juuust the person..who (Y/N) is going on a blind date with. That person. Betty, let’s go.” Veronica grabbed Betty’s wrist, and with that, they were off.

I rolled my eyes and smiled, and turned my attention to a photo hanging on the wall. I wasn’t a huge fan of photography museums, I much preferred sculptures and paintings, but Betty and Ronnie assured me that this was the perfect place. After a few seconds, I heard a voice come up behind me.

“You know, they’re supposed to hang the masterpieces, not leave them standing on the floor like this.”

“Jughead?” I turned around. “Hey! What are you doing here?” I asked. I didn’t know that Jug liked to come here. “I’m meeting someone, for a date. Betty and Ronnie wouldn’t tell me who, but that’s why I’m here.”

Jughead let out a little cough, like he was clearing his throat. “Yeah, um. I know. Me. You’re supposed to be meeting me. And so, here we are,” he gestured with his hand. “Is that..that’s ok, right?” He squinted his eyes, looking like he was getting ready to bolt if I said no.

“Yeah! No, it’s, great, actually,” I said, after a little pause. I was a little shocked, but it was. I had to admit that I had been really nervous, trying all week to figure out who Betty and Ronnie thought would be a good match for me, and, really, I should have known that my feelings for Jughead were transparent. I was awful at keeping secrets.

“I’ve, um, kind of had a crush on you since freshman year of high school, so, yeah. This is definitely more than ok. Unless someone put you up to this, in which case, I’ll just leave and go home, and then try and figure out a way where I can still graduate without having to attend school ever again.”

“Archie,” Jughead said, taking a step towards me, “technically put me up to this, but I only agreed, because he told me that you were going to be my date. I wasn’t supposed to say anything but, you know,” he shrugged, and smiled. He grabbed my hands then, and took in a deep breath before saying, “I’ve had a crush on you too. For a while. But I figured that we were friends, and that was, you know. That.”

“How long is a while?” I asked, laughing. “Since, like, middle school?”

Jughead lowered his head and sheepishly smiled, before returning my gaze. “Try the third grade.”

“The third grade?” I was incredulous. “That was when I moved here! You’ve liked me for that long, and never did anything about it? God, I finally understand it now..”

“Understand what?”

“Why they call you Jughead.”

“Oh, so, what. What? You think that, because we’re dating now, you can be mean to me?” Jughead asked, though he was smiling. And then, quickly, he added, “we are, dating, right?”

I rolled my eyes again and chuckled. “Yes, Jughead. We’re dating. Now take me to Pop’s and buy me a milkshake.”

“Chocolate peanut butter?”

“Of course.”

We left the museum hand in hand, but I couldn’t take my eyes off of Jughead. My friend, one of my best friends, who I had liked for two years, was _dating_ me. And I had my other best friends to thank for it, too.

Jughead, feeling my eyes on him, glanced down at me. “What?”

“Nothing. It’s just. Well, Betty and Veronica said that they were going to set me up with my perfect match, and I think that they were actually right about that.”

Jughead didn’t say anything, but leaned down to kiss the top of my head, and released my hand in favor of putting his arm over my shoulders, pulling me closer to him.


	4. Breaking the Code (Jughead Jones/Reader)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (Y/N) is an artist, helping Jughead illustrate his true crime novel. When he mistakenly comes upon drawings of them kissing, he gets scared and confused. Will Jughead realize his own feelings before it's too late?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was requested on Tumblr! Got a request? Message me at riverdalewritings.tumblr.com!

“What ya working on?” a voice popped up from the corner of my bedroom. That voice belonged to Jughead Jones III, aka one of my best friends.

“Just some drawings.” Of you, I thought, but didn’t dare speak.

“Cool. I know everyone says that an art degree is a waste of time, but I think you’ll really be able to do something with it. You know, when you go to college.”

“Thanks, Jug,” I said, looking over to him and smiling. “What are you going to do in college? Major in writing? English..?”

“I won’t need college, (Y/N). I’ll be too famous with this true crime book, that’s coming along quite swimmingly, I might add.” That gave me an idea.

“Oh! What if, I draw for your book? Like, crime scenes and stuff? Nothing too gory, but since it’s a true crime novel, based on actual events that surround us, I could draw like, what we see, so readers can see it as well. Please?” I pleaded with Jughead, when he didn’t answer, holding out the word. “It would be so cool. Like a graphic novel, you know? I mean, I guess technically it wouldn’t be, because there wouldn’t be art work on every single page but, still. It would be really cool. And my name would be on the cover.” Jughead laughed at that.

“So that’s why you want to do it. To have your name emblazoned on the front cover of a best selling book.” He smirked up at me from where he was sitting on my floor.

“And,” I said, scooting further down my bed to get closer to Jughead, “I would be helping you out, too. So, it’s a two for one, really.” I smiled down at him, trying to show him just how much I wanted to do this.

“Fine,” he responded, after a few seconds. “Draw me some stuff, and if I approve, I’ll add your drawings in my book.”

“Ahhh thank you thank you thank you.” I rolled up off my bed and fixed Juggie’s hair, some strands sticking to the side of his beanie. “Now, let’s go get food.”

 

After getting home, I practically ran up the stairs to my room, excited to start working on the drawings for Jughead’s book. The only problem, I soon realized, was that I had one quality notebook, that was halfway filled with drawings of Jughead, with some of us holding hands, and even some of us kissing. I froze for a minute, trying to figure out a way to get around that, but without funds for a new notebook, I was stuck. I came to the conclusion that, if I just drew on the last few pages, and showed them to Juggie myself, he wouldn’t see my other drawings.

It wasn’t that I was embarrassed to have a crush on Jughead or anything. He was a really good friend of mine, a best friend, and had been for a while, but, that was just it. He was a really great friend, and I was terrified of losing that. If he didn’t feel the same way, and I was almost certain he didn’t, I wouldn’t want anything to become weird. I was more than content with being just friends, instead of being truthful about my feelings, and having something potentially change for the worst.

That night, I got started on my drawings. Honestly, it was quite harder than I thought it would be. Everyone interprets and sees things differently, and I was having trouble trying to draw Sweetwater River from memory, especially the spot where Kevin had found Jason. Not that I was going to draw Jason anyway, that would be too gruesome, but I thought that giving the readers some clue as to what the surroundings of the site looked like would be informational. I sat on my bed drawing for hours, well into the early early morning, and only became aware that I had switched to my favorite artform to draw as I started to doze off. Jughead. It happened often, especially when I became tired and zoned out, so I decided to close my notebook for the night and get some much needed rest.

 

It was a text from Jughead that woke me up. “Bring your notebook to school and we can go over the drawings after,” it read. Blearily, I unlocked my phone to type back, but I started freaking out when I saw the time. I had completely slept through my alarm, and had only 37 minutes before school started. Flinging myself out of bed, I ran to the bathroom to brush my teeth and comb my hair back into a ponytail, trying to look somewhat presentable. Running back and hopping into some jeans, I threw on a sweater and flung my notebook into my bag, along with some other things that I needed, my mind only on getting to school on time.

After my final class, I walked to my locker, books in hand, only to be met with Jughead leaning against the locker next time mine, waiting for me.

“You bring your drawings? You never texted me back.”

“Yeah, I know. I overslept.” I had a habit of doing that.

Jughead smirked and looked away. “Again?”

“Hey! You like burgers, I like sleeping. Is that so wrong?” I asked, jokingly. “But here.” I pulled the notebook out from between some others, handing it over to Juggie.

“Cool. Wanna go over them at your house, though? I’d rather look over them where I have space. Not around all these rich kids from The Goonies,” he said, scowling towards some football jocks that were making their way down the hall.

I led Jughead into my house, going straight for the kitchen, because I knew he’d be hungry. Heating up some pizza from the night before, I turned around, and saw that he was already looking at what I had drawn. He studied each page carefully, a smile small on his face. That made me feel good, because even though I knew he’d never tell me no, I still wanted him to like what I had spent hours last night doing. And that’s when it hit me. At the exact time he turned the page to my last drawing. Drawings. Of him. Us. Kissing.

I could see his eyebrows draw together, in what I was hoping was confusion, and not disgust. I wanted to move, to grab the book right out from under his nose, but I couldn’t. My fear had rooted me to the spot. I tried to speak, to explain why that was in there, but I couldn’t come up with an explanation. What was I supposed to say? ‘Oh yeah, Juggie, I’ve kind of had this insatiable crush on you for the past two years! Haha’? Absolutely not. I’d rather die. Which, by the way, I was certain that that’s what I was actually doing. Jughead wasn’t saying anything, I wasn’t saying anything, and time seemed to stand still.

Finally, after what felt like hours of staring at Jughead, I saw him shift in his seat. He coughed a little, to clear his throat, and made a gesture towards my drawings. “This is, um.. That’s, well. I mean, me. I’m staring at myself. And, you. That’s, us.”

“Yeah,” I said, dumbly, not elaborating on anything else.

“You’ve, uh.. You like me, or..?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh.” That was all he said. Jughead sat there for a few moments, unsure of what to do. I was unsure of what to do. My soul was crushed. It was clear that he didn’t feel the same for me, and now, I knew, that things would never be the same.

“I, um.” Jughead stood up, and grabbed his bag. “I’ve got to go.”

“No, Jug, please. Please, I can explain, I just-” I tried to rush out, but he cut me off.

“I’ll see you later, (Y/N). I’ve got to,” he circled his hand in front of his head, “think.” He started walking away, out of my kitchen, down the hall to my front door, and I thought that, with each step going away from me, I was losing him more and more. I still hadn’t moved, and I had to grip my counter to stop myself from falling on the floor. I was aware that I was crying, but I couldn’t help it. I had made such a stupid mistake, and now, I thought, Jughead was out of my life for the foreseeable future.

It only dawned on me after a few minutes that I hadn’t heard my door open or close. Curious, I gingerly stepped out of my kitchen towards my front door, seeing if Jughead had left. I rounded the corner, not knowing what to expect, and saw that, indeed, Jughead was still there. His left hand was on the doorknob, but he wasn’t moving. When he heard my steps, he took a deep breath and sighed.

“I thought that I had to leave, to think things over, but I don’t, (Y/N),” he confessed, turning to me. “I don’t.” He dropped his bag and, in one swift motion, walked over to me, took my face in his hands, and kissed me.

I was too shocked to do much of anything. I kissed him back, but it was short lived. He pulled himself away from me, eyes closed, and rested his forehead on mine, catching his breath.

“J..Jug?”

He finally opened his eyes and moved to look at me, really look at me, like he had never truly seen me before. His thumbs swiped my cheeks, trying to dry my tears, but it was to no avail.

“God, (Y/N), I’m so sorry. I never meant to hurt you.”

“Jug, I’m confused..” I trailed off, not knowing how to ask him about what just happened. He chuckled a little.

“I am, too. Or, I was. Well, I thought I was, anyway. But,” he sighed again, and then paused, smiling at me. “I’m sorry I’m being so ineloquent right now.”

“I just, thought that you didn’t feel the same, and when you saw that drawing, which, was a mistake anyway, you weren’t supposed to see it, I just..felt awful, Juggie. And that’s why I never told you how I truly feel. Because I didn’t want this to happen.”

He took his hands off me then, and slanted his eyes in confusion. He made a move like he was about to leave, and then stopped. “Just for the record, you didn’t want this,” he gestured to me, “happening, or you didn’t want the,” he gestured again, this time to my face.

“I didn’t want us to stop being friends, Jug. I’m all for,” I made the same gesture he made, “this, whatever it is, happening. I just thought that, in the event you didn’t feel the same, I’d rather just be friends, than you knowing the truth of how I really felt about you.”

Jughead’s reaction surprised me. Instead of saying anything, he started to laugh. He laughed and laughed until he had to wipe tears from his eyes, and I joined in too, because his laughter, so seldom heard, was infectious. He pulled me into a hug, comforting me, and when he pulled away, he stuck out his hand.

“Let’s start this all over, (Y/N). Hi! My name is Jughead, and I’ve liked you for over a year. And you are?” I laughed, but went along.

“Nice to meet you, Jughead. I’m (Y/N), and I’ve had feelings for you for two years.” We shook hands. “How about, instead of keeping everything bottled up, we just tell each other how we’re actually feeling, from now on?”

“That sounds..practical. And way better than what we were doing before. Now, come on,” he said, grabbing for my hand. “I want to discuss your drawings, which are really incredible, by the way.”

“Thank you.” I smiled up at him. We got to my kitchen, and I sat down at the table, where my notebook was still laid open.

Jughead went for the toaster, which I should have been expecting. “You think this pizza will be burnt?” he asked, though it was mostly rhetorical. He pulled it out, and looked it over, scraping with a nail at some of the burnt black pieces on the corner. Shrugging, he shoved it into his mouth.

“Anyway, what I was envisioning for this part..”

He kept talking, and, even with the fact that his mouth was full of burned food, I smiled, in spite of myself. Sure, we were technically dating now, but Jughead was once again my best friend, and no one could take that away.


	5. Someone to Watch Over Me (Betty Cooper/Veronica Lodge)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Veronica is sick, so of course, she enlists her best friend, Betty, to take care of her. Over the course of the night, Betty realizes that she has feelings for Veronica, and finds out about Veronica's plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was requested on Tumblr! Got a request? Message me at riverdalewritings.tumblr.com!

“Come to my place ASAP,” was what the text from Veronica said. Betty didn’t mind, as she usually had no plans on Saturdays anyway, but she was slightly worried. Was Veronica in trouble?

Betty showed up to Veronica’s twenty minutes later, a little frantic, ponytail slightly askew. She threw open the front door, and almost smacked Smithers right in the face.

“Oh! I’m sorry!” Betty blushed, but didn’t slow down. She practically ran up the stairs, panting, trying to get to Veronica as fast as possible. _Finally_ , after what seemed like hours, she reached Veronica’s door and pushed it open.

“V?” Betty called out, because the room was dark, light blocking curtains covering the windows. Veronica was in bed, still in pajamas. She turned slowly towards Betty, a soft smile on her face, and gestured to her to come over. Betty walked, gingerly, towards the bed, and sat down on the edge.

“V? What’s wrong?”

Veronica curled into Betty’s lap, and got herself comfortable before answering. “I’m sick, and you need to take care of me.”

“… _that_ was what I needed to come over here for? ASAP? What about your mom? Or Smithers?” Betty looked down at Veronica, and couldn’t help running her fingers through the loose strands that had fallen out of V’s loose bun.

“Not you,” Veronica sighed, nuzzling further into Betty’s lap.

“Alright,” Betty agreed (as if she’d ever say no anyway). “What do you want? Soup? Orange juice? Do you need tissues or anything?” Veronica didn’t answer, but Betty could tell she was smiling. “Ok, tell you what. I will go make you chicken noodle soup, and I’ll set up Netflix. How about that?” Veronica nodded in agreement.

When Betty came back, soup tray in hand, Veronica was sitting up, waiting for her, remote, or something, in hand. “Is Gentlemen Prefer Blondes ok?”

“Sure,” Betty said, smiling. “I just don’t know how true that title is.” She sat down next to Veronica, and place the tray over her lap.

“Well, I don’t know about gentlemen, but _I_ prefer blondes. Blondes who are named Betty, and nurse me back to health.”

Betty chuckled. “Please, V. I’m not ‘nursing you back to health’. I’m spending the day with you, and I made you soup. And brought you water. You’re out of orange juice, by the way.” Veronica didn’t say anything, but she laid her head on Betty’s shoulder, and looked up at her, like she was waiting for something.

“Uh, V..what are you doing?”

“Flirting.”

“Um..” but Betty didn’t know what else to say. Sure, her and Veronica were probably closer than other friends, and, ok, yeah, _maybe_ Betty had had feelings for Veronica for a while, but Veronica had never acted like this before. Betty figured that she would just chalk it up to her being sick. Veronica was a touchy feely type, and maybe when she got sick, she was even more so.. Still, Betty couldn’t help the little flip of her stomach when Veronica cuddled into her, pressing play to start the movie.

Veronica ate her soup the best she could, while wrapped around Betty, and hoped B would notice that she kept glancing at her. Veronica was smitten with Betty the second they had met, all those months ago, and being well versed in human behavior, had been testing the waters, to see if Betty felt the same. She was almost 100% sure she did, but she decided to step up her game today. Of course, she was _actually_ sick, and could probably benefit from a shower, and new pajamas, but she figured that Betty wouldn’t mind. They were besties, after all.

When the movie got to Marilyn Monroe singing, “I’ve heard of affairs that are strictly platonic,” Betty and Veronica were settled in quite comfortably, and by the time the movie had ended, Veronica was asleep, right arm laid gently across Betty’s stomach. She decided to lay there, so Veronica’s sleep would go undisturbed, and closed her eyes, too.

 

When Betty woke up, she had no clue what time it was, but Veronica was hovering over her, smiling. “We fell asleep,” she said simply, like it was a normal thing between them to cuddle and fall asleep. Betty sort of wished it was.

“Yeah..we did. What time is it..?” Betty asked, groggy, voice still gritty with sleep. She positioned herself up on her elbow, and tried looking around for her phone.

“I have no clue, but I’m feeling a lot better. So thank you, my little nurse angel.”

Betty smirked. V was being ridiculous, but she was so cute. “I’m very glad, but all I did was make you soup, which you barely ate because you kept clinging to me. And you didn’t even touch your water. You basically just slept, _which_ you definitely could have done without me.”

“True..” Veronica moved closer to Betty, so they were both staring at each other. “But, maybe I didn’t want to. Maybe, this was my plan all along.”

Betty chuckled at that and looked to the ceiling, shaking her head. “What was your plan? To have me make you soup and then sleep in your bed?”

“Yes.” It came out as a whisper.

“V, you didn’t need a plan..”

“What?”

“I said, you didn’t need a plan.” By this point, both girls were talking softly, Betty’s voice just shy of a whisper, like this was some shared secret between the two. As if everyone didn’t know already that they harbored feelings for each other. “I’ll spend my time with you whenever you want, V. Even if it is just to make food. Especially if it’s to,” she swallowed, “sleep, with you.”

Veronica looked at Betty, as though it was the first time she was seeing her after a year away, and searched her face, for any little sign that Betty might be joking. When she didn’t see any, she lifted her hand to Betty’s face, and leaned in.

Their first kiss was a ploy by Veronica to shock Cheryl Blossom. Their second kiss, however, both girls would count as their first. It was gentle this time, because it was for Betty and Veronica. No one else. They had all the time in the world. They didn’t have to impress anyone, they didn’t have to rush. Betty ran her fingers through Veronica’s hair, and shifted up, over her to get better leverage. Veronica had rested her hands along Betty’s jawline and neck, softly, a gentle coax to pull her closer. Minutes passed, or maybe even hours, until both girls pulled away, breathless, smiling. Veronica was about to speak, but Betty beat her to it.

“I wish you hadn’t done that,” and Veronica was pretty sure that the entire world could collectively hear her heart shattering, falling into her stomach and breaking into a million pieces. Betty rested her forehead on Veronica’s shoulder, but V couldn’t feel anything.

“What do you..” she tried to ask, but her entire mouth had gone dry. “I thought..”

Betty, her thoughts collected, realized _what_ she said, and how _wrong_ it had come out, and almost broke her neck due to the speed of her popping her head up in order to explain herself. “No! No, no. _God_ , V, no. I meant that I wish we had done that earlier, because now I’m going to get sick,” Betty rushed out, smiling. “No. I’ve wanted to do _that_ for a long time.”

“Oh, god, B!” Veronica tried to throw Betty off of her, but she had no strength. “You scared the shit out of me. You’re so mean.”

“Sorry! Sorry.” Betty kissed Veronica’s cheek in apology, and laid back down next to her. “I’m _really_ glad you did that, for the record.”

Veronica rolled her eyes playfully, “Just for that, you can make me more soup.”

“Yes, my sickly princess,” Betty laughed out, and Veronica joined her. Betty leaned down for another kiss, the soup already forgotten.

 

On Monday morning, Betty sneezed the moment she opened her locker, and almost banged her forehead on the door. Sniffing, she reached into it, grabbed her books, and closed it, only to be met with Kevin’s smiling face.

“Beronica is endgame, _finally_.”

“What?”

“Veronica was sick on Saturday, which I know because she posted a pic of you walking into her room with a tray of soup, and now you’re sniffling. You totally got together, didn’t you?” Instead of answering, Betty just looked down and smiled.

“Oh, you have no idea how happy this makes me. My OTP lives.”

Betty rolled her eyes, but laughed despite herself. It was hard to get mad when what Kevin said was true, and especially when Betty could still feel Veronica smiling against her lips.


	6. The Melody Lingers On (Archie Andrews/Reader)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone knows Archie can sing, but no one knows that his girlfriend, (Y/N), can too. She wants to keep it a secret, but events force her to expose her secret, by way of helping Archie.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was requested on Tumblr! Have a request? Send me a message on riverdalewritings.tumblr.com.

“So, what did you think?” Archie asked, putting his guitar down.

“It was good. Like, _really_ good. I’m glad that Valerie has been able to help you,” I told him, leaning down to give him a kiss. Which, of course, was the exact moment that Archie’s dad walked in.

“Oh, hey, dad,” Archie said, pulling away from me. “I was just showing (Y/N) some of the new stuff I’ve been working on..”

“Hi, Mr. Andrews,” I said, meekly. I liked Archie’s dad, a lot, but I didn’t want him to get the wrong impression. Thankfully, he wasn’t mad.

“Hi, (Y/N). Nice to see you,” he smiled. “But what did I say about calling me Mr. Andrews? Fred is fine with me.”

“Sorry, Fred,” I said, smiling back.

“I just came up here to tell you both that it’s getting kind of late, and it’s a school night, so how about you start walking (Y/N) back to her house soon? I love hearing you play,” he said, gesturing to Archie, “but I also have to get some sleep.”

“Sure, dad.”

“Alright. Well, it’s good to see you again, (Y/N). I think I already said that, but it’s true. You should come over more often.”

I laughed a little. “Ok, Fred. It’s just hard sometimes, with Archie playing football, _and_ focusing on music,” I said, kiddingly poking Archie in the shoulder. “But I don’t mind,” I quickly add.

Archie’s dad carried on the conversation for a little while longer, mostly asking me questions, like how I was doing in school, and how my parents were doing, but the time quickly came for Archie to walk me home.

The night air was a little cooler than I had expected, and since I was only in a thin sweater, Archie let me wear his letterman jacket. It was huge on me, but warm. All through the walk home, I couldn’t get his new song out of my head. It was so catchy, even if it hadn’t been perfected yet. There were many instances where I almost started singing out loud, but I caught myself before I could ever let it slip. It wasn’t that I couldn’t sing; I was actually very good at it. I just didn’t like people hearing me. Even _Archie_ , who I’d been dating for a few months, didn’t know that I liked to sing, or even could.

Archie and I stopped outside of my house, the front porch light bathing him in a yellow cast, making his hair look even redder.

“I’m glad that you came over today. I know that I’m always busy, but I liked spending my day with you, and being able to play for you. Valerie told me today that they’re having another concert next weekend, and they want me to be kind of an opening act for them, so, I’m glad that you were the first one to hear the new stuff I’ve been working on, besides Valerie, and the Pussycats, of course,” he said, a sheepish grin on his face.

“I’m glad too! It was nice being able to spend a day together, as much as I like watching you play football.”

We smiled at each other, and he leaned in for a kiss. When we pulled away, he took a lock of hair that had fallen into my face and moved it back, off my shoulder. His thumb swiped my lower lip, and he kissed me again, before saying goodbye.

I walked into my house and bounded up the stairs to my room, forgetting I still had his jacket on, until I felt the right arm of it get caught on my doorknob. I let it slip off off and tossed it on my bed, to change out of my clothes and into pajamas. After I put my clothes in my hamper, my parents thankfully still doing all the laundry, I sat down at my mirror, and grabbed a makeup remover wipe to start taking my makeup off. I started singing lightly, not loud enough for anyone in my house to hear. _“You get ready, you get all dressed up, to go nowhere in particular. Back to work or the coffee shop, doesn’t matter ‘cause it’s enough.”_

Looking over myself in my mirror, satisfied that I had wiped everything away, I tossed the wipe in my garbage and stood up, whirling around to go to the bathroom. What I didn’t expect was to come face to face with my boyfriend.

“A-Archie! What are you,” I cleared my throat, trying to calm the shock in my voice at seeing something I wasn’t expecting. “What are you doing here?”

Instead of answering, he asked _me_ a question. “How come you never told me you could sing?”

“I, um..”

“I mean, I don’t really mind, but, with my music I just figured that you would have said something,” he said, walking over to sit on the edge of my bed.

“Well, if it’s any consolation, I’ve never told anyone.” I gave him a weak smile, and sat down next to him.

“Ok, but..why?” He took my hands in his, curiosity etched all over his face.

“I, don’t really know? Honestly, I just never really thought of it, I guess. I’m not going to walk around going, _’oh, hey, people! I can sing! Just thought you oughta know!’_ ” Archie laughed at that. “And, besides, music is your big aspiration. Not mine.” I smiled at him, letting him know that I supported him 100%.

He kissed my forehead and smiled back, but I could tell from the glint in his eye that he was planning something.

“Sing with me. For the opening I’m doing for Josie and the Pussycats.”

“Um, no?” I said, more of a lilting question than a straight out answer. “Did you not just hear what I said?”

“No, I know, I did,” Archie said, reassuring me, “but you and I would sound great together. Honestly. And we could spend more time together that way, too!”

I sighed a little, knowing that there would be no way for me to say yes to my boyfriend. “Arch, I’m sorry, but, I can’t. I just, don’t want to.”

He paused for a few seconds, smile falling. “It’s ok, (Y/N), I understand.” He stood up, and grabbed his jacket off my bed. “This is what I came here for, anyway,” he smiled. He shrugged it on, and made for my door. Before he crossed the threshold, I told him again that I was sorry. He stopped and turned around, and gave me another reassuring smile.

“Seriously, don’t worry about it, (Y/N). You’ll still come to the concert though, right?”

“Of course, Arch. I wouldn’t miss it.” I walked over to him and kissed him, before he left that night for good.

 

Before I knew it, it was night of the concert, and Archie was more nervous than I thought he would be. He had practiced every day after school, and I had heard the songs so many times that _I_ could sing them from memory. I was standing in the front, coming to the concert with Betty, Veronica, Kevin, and Jughead.

Soon enough, the stage lights turned on, and Archie was introduced to the crowd. We all cheered for him, Betty the loudest, and as he walked to the mic, he awkwardly waved. I could hear him clear his throat, and he grabbed the mic, ready to speak. Except he didn’t. He eyes were averted to the floor, and he was just standing there, eyebrows knit together. His breathing was becoming ragged, and the sound from the crowd died down into a hush.

“What’s he doing? Is this some weird performance art stuff that I don’t understand?” asked Jughead, but no one laughed.

“Oh, god,” Ronnie said, after a few beats. “He’s choking. He’s too nervous.”

I could feel my stomach sink, but I knew the only way to save Archie’s performance had just completely fallen into my hands. Quickly making up my mind, I took a deep breath, and started heading over to the stairs next to the stage, to take a place next to my boyfriend. I heard Betty ask where I was going, but I couldn’t slow down. If I did, I knew I would never be able to go through with this.

I took the stage and went over to Archie, grabbed his hand, and took the mic away from him. He stared, wide-eyed at me, but didn’t say a word.

“Um,” I began, “hey everyone! I’m (Y/N) (Y/L/N), this is Archie Andrews, and we’re opening tonight foooooor Josie, and the Pussycats!!”

The crowd started clapping, questionable, still unsure of just what was going on, but I could hear Betty, Veronica, Kevin, and even Jughead cheer for us. I glanced up at Archie, trying to communicate what I was doing without saying it, and thankfully, he seemed to understand. I put the mic back in its stand and Archie began to play the first few chords of one of his songs.

I noticed movement from my right, just offstage, and turned just in time to see Valerie toss me my own mic. I caught it and she smiled, giving me a thumbs up. Taking another deep breath, willing my nerves to leave me, I started singing along with Archie, silently praying that I had done the right thing.

We only played a few songs, but by the end, the crowd was into it, and were pumped for Josie and the Pussycats. I was so glad that it was over, but mostly, I was ecstatic that Archie had gotten through it. Even though my biggest secret had been shown to what was basically the entire school, I had done it for my boyfriend, and I had never seen him happier.

We walked backstage after our set, amongst literal yells and whistles from our friends, Betty the loudest, and seemingly most proud, and I felt like I could finally breathe again. That moment, however, didn’t last, because Archie took me in his arms, giving me a bone crushing hug. He pulled away after a minute, and I started to talk, but he shut me up with a kiss, hands on the side of my face keeping me there. I moved my arms up to his shoulders and held on, basking in the moment.

“God, (Y/N),” he said after he pulled away, panting a little. “That was _amazing_! I don’t know how I can ever thank you. Seriously. If it hadn’t been for you, I..”

“Shh, Archie,” I laughed, trying to calm him a little. “I did it for you. I know how important music is to you, and I wasn’t just going to let you stand there doing nothing. You, or singing,” I said, “the choice was an easy one.” I grinned up at him, and he pulled me in for another bruising kiss.

“Now,” I said, in between kisses, “as amazing as you were, please don’t make me have to do it again.”

I would like to say that the concert was amazing. I would like to say that I had the best time of my life dancing amongst my friends, laughing and singing along with the Pussycats. And, I guess, part of that is true. I did have the best time of my life that night, but in lieu of enjoying the concert, I spent it all backstage, kissing my boyfriend.


	7. Reality Bites Me (Veronica Lodge/Reader)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Veronica and (Y/N) haven't been dating long, but they both know that they're crazy for one another. When (Y/N) forgets their anniversary, how will Veronica react?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was requested on Tumblr! Got a request? Message me at riverdalewritings.tumblr.com!

“Hey!” I heard Betty call out immediately upon walking into Pop’s. I turned in the direction of her voice, and found her waving me over, with Kevin sitting opposite of her in the booth they were occupying. Smiling, I made my way over, and sat down next to Kevin, stealing one of his fries. He looked at me accusingly, but quickly turned his head away and started talking.

“Can you believe Miss Hagely today? Using _history_ memes in class, of all things?”

“She’s pretty hip for being, you know, older,” Betty said, through laughter.

“I guess, but don’t you feel like she’s grasping a little?”

Betty shrugged, but I was too preoccupied with eating Kevin’s fries to care. And, I also thought it was kind of cool of Miss Hagely to try and relate to her students. Kevin and Betty argued over it a little, and I finished Kevin’s fries, which he reluctantly, but silently, gave to me. After their argument died down, Kevin turned to me.

“Why are you here anyway, (Y/N)? Shouldn’t you be with Veronica? And I didn’t mean to make that sound rude, by the way.”

“What do you mean? I’m always with Ronnie. I can’t sit with my other friends for a change?” I’d be remiss if I missed the looks that passed between Kevin and Betty, a wide eyed, frightful thing.

“You mean, you don’t remember what today is..?” Betty asked, drawing out the question.

“Um..Tuesday..?”

“Oh, my god! You’re going to die. Come here,” Kevin said, opening his arms, “because this is the last time I’m going to see you.” I let him hug me, but I looked at Betty, confusion written all over my face.

“(Y/N),” she said, carefully, “it’s the 28th..”

I shook my head slowly, made a face, and gestured a little with my hands, clearly questioning why Betty would tell me that.

“The 28th? As in your 6th month anniversary of dating V?? God, (Y/N)! Even I know that and I’m not dating her!”

“Ohhhh shit, shit shit shitshitshit,” was all I could say, the revelation dawning on me. I jumped up from the booth and out of Kevin’s arms. “I gotta go, like, now. Ahh Ronnie’s gonna kill me.” I slung my bag over my shoulders and rushed out the door, thoughts racing through my mind on how I could make this up to my girlfriend. I figured that if I bought anything now, and came home two hours later than I usually do, she’d know right away that I would be trying to cover up the fact that I forgot. Ultimately, I just decided on going straight to her place, which I guess technically was my home now, since I spent all my time there, and telling her straight up that I just forgot, and that I would make it up to her.

I practically ran back to her house, my mind reeling on all the different outcomes that could happen from this. I was scared, not for me, but for the fact that I knew I had more than likely unintentionally hurt Ronnie. It also didn’t help that halfway home, I got a text from Kevin that read, _I just want you to know that when you die, I’ll try and use an Ouija board to contact you from the other side_.

I burst through the front door and ran up to her room, to find Ronnie sitting on her bed, a tray of flowers that held two cupcakes by her side. I walked over gingerly, not sure what to expect.

“Hey, babe,” I said, slowly. “Happy anniversary.”

She looked up at me, a sad smile on her face. “Happy anniversary,” she sighed, obviously disappointed.

“Look, Ronnie, I’m so, so sorry, but I completely forgot that it was our anniversary.. Honestly, if it wasn’t for Betty, I wouldn’t have even remembered at all. I know, I’m awful, and you definitely don’t deserve me, but I want to make it up to you, somehow.”

It took her a while to answer, but when she did, I felt the sting in her words. “I figured that you had forgotten. You said nothing to me this morning, and I never saw an indication that you were doing anything special. I said nothing, because I thought, hey, maybe it’s supposed to be a surprise, but,” she took a deep breath and sighed, “maybe I’m just stupid.”

“Ronnie, please,” I cut in, moving to wipe a tear that had fallen down her cheek. She jerked away from me, which felt like a punch to the gut.

“(Y/N), just stop, ok? You know what you can do? You can take your pillow and sleep on the couch tonight. I want to be left alone.”

“Ron-”

“Just go.”

I froze, not knowing what to do. I had never heard this tone in Ronnie’s voice, and it scared me, because I knew that I was the one who had done this to her. I got up to collect my pillow and blanket, my movements stunted. I guess subconsciously I figured that if I took my time getting my things, Ronnie would ask me to stay, to talk about what happened. To give me a chance to make it up. She didn’t. I gathered my things, and sighing, resigned myself to a night on the couch, at Ronnie’s request.

 

In the morning, I was woken up by a kiss on my cheek. I opened my eyes slightly, trying to adjust to the sunlight that was streaming in through the windows, and saw Ronnie sitting on the edge of the couch, smiling slightly.

“Morning,” she said, lightly.

“Morning,” came my groggy reply. “I’m sorry.” I took her hand in mine, and smiled back at her.

“I know. I made us breakfast, to, you know, apologize for yesterday. I just kind of freaked. This is my first, _real_ , relationship, and I don’t really know how to navigate everything yet. I just wanted everything to be special. And it could have been but,” she stopped and shook her head, not meeting my eyes.

“Ronnie, come on.” I tilted her head so she would look at me. “Nothing was your fault yesterday. _I’m_ the one who messed up. This is my first real relationship too, and I don’t know how to do everything perfectly.”

She laid down beside me, and rested her head on my shoulder. “I don’t care about perfect, (Y/N). I was just hurt, because I put a lot of thought into it, and it just seemed to me that you didn’t care, I guess.”

“Don’t care?” I chuckled, knowing that that assumption was the completely wrong one. “Ronnie, I’m half in love with you. Of course I care.” It wasn’t until Ronnie popped her head up that I knew what I said. It was true, but I hadn’t meant to tell her that. Not yet. I wanted to tell her somewhere special, somewhere with meaning. Not just on her couch.

“You’re..?

“Yeah.”

“Oh, (Y/N).” Ronnie crawled on top of me and kissed me. I could feel her smiling into it, and I felt so happy knowing that she wasn’t mad or hurt anymore. We laid there, her on top, kissing for a few minutes, until she pulled away, and rested her chin on her hands.

“I haven’t said it yet, but I feel the same way.”

“Oh, thank god,” I said, teasing. “I was getting worried.” I sat up on my elbows and smirked, but leaned in for another kiss. Ronnie laughed, music to my ears, and gleefully kissed me back.

“Breakfast is getting cold, by the way,” she said, after pulling away. “I made us pancakes.”

“Mmm, as good as that sounds,” I sat up fully and wrapped my hands around her waist, “I was hoping that we could eat those cupcakes you got us.”

She looped her arms around my shoulders, and rubbed her nose against mine. “They’re still in my room,” she whispered, and looked up at me through her eyelashes.

“Well, let’s go.” She started to move away, but I held onto her fast. In one swift motion, I stood up, holding Ronnie to me, and dipped her down to give her another kiss. She laughed, and asked me what I was doing.

“Making it up to you,” I replied, placing kisses all over her face.

“Well, then, what are you waiting for?”

“Mmm, you’re devilish, Veronica Lodge.”

She smirked up at me and adjusted herself, bringing her mouth to my ear. “Just wait until we get into my bed.”

I didn’t need to be told twice. I quickly walked us to her room and laid her out on her bed, cupcakes already forgotten.


	8. Out of the Frying Pan, Into the Inferno (Reggie Mantle/Reader)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (Y/N) and Reggie are semi dating, and (Y/N) realizes she wants to take it further. Reggie, however, wants to keep her out of the playbook, a book where his teammates rate girls they date based on appearances, and is reluctant. How will (Y/N) react when she finds out about the playbook?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was requested on Tumblr! Got a request? Message me at riverdalewritings.tumblr.com!

“What are you doing out so late on a school night?” Reggie asked, jokingly, as he dropped me off at my house. I supposed it was kind of late, but I couldn’t bother to think about it. I always had a great time with Reggie, even if his moods did tend to swing a little, especially with me and our..”relationship”, but he was fun, and was the best looking guy in our school. Not to mention captain of the football team.

I rolled my eyes and smiled at him, just happy that we had hung out on a Tuesday. We usually hooked up on the weekends, but we kept things very lowkey. I wouldn’t even classify it as dating, but I enjoyed myself, nonetheless. No one was the wiser, either, because Reggie and I had been good friends for years. That allowed us to hang out, and for our hookups to go undetected, which was nice. But I couldn’t help to think that Reggie would be somehow embarrassed of dating me, which hurt, because that’s what I had started to want.

Probably, it was due to the fact that whenever I even remotely tried to bring it up, he’d get really quiet, and change the subject. A lot of times, he’d just brush me off completely. We could be hanging out, having a good time, flirting, and then, in five minutes, he could change and act like he barely knew me. I had wanted to talk about it to him for a while, but never had the opportunity. And I didn’t want to ruin what he had, either. So, I just stuffed everything down, and pretended like everything was perfect.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said, his voice snapping me out of my thoughts.

“Bright and early.”

He leaned over and kissed me, smiling into it. When he shifted away, he kept his eyes on me, and I gave him one last smile before reaching for the door handle. Reggie, however, was too fast, and gripped my hand to stop me from opening the door.

“What are you..” I tried questioning, but he cut me off with another kiss. And another, and another, until his hands were in my hair, and his tongue was running along my bottom lip, teasing me. I gripped his shoulders and leant in more, savoring the moment. It wasn’t often that Reggie was like this, so I took every advantage of every opportunity he gave me.

A few minutes later he pulled away, a dumb smile on his face, cheeks a little flushed. I smiled, more to myself, and looked up at him through my eyelashes.

“I really need to go.”

“I know.” Neither of us moved. He untangled his hands from my hair and smoothed it down, gentle. Leaning in again, I thought it was for another kiss. His mouth gently trailed across my cheek to my ear, but then he bypassed me, opening the door to his car. Smirking, he leaned back, resting along the crook of his own door, arm on his steering wheel, and very casually said, “I’ll be seeing you.”

I tried my best to hide my smile, but the corners of my mouth still ticked up, giving me away. “You’re despicable, Reggie Mantle.” I rolled my eyes and got out of his car, but turned around at the sound of his voice.

“Mm..remember that the next time my tongue is in your throat.”

“Who said I wanted there to be a next time?” I countered, leaning in through the window.

“Everyone always wants a next time with Mantle the Magnificent,” he said, winking at me.

“I bet you say that to all the girls.”

“No. Only the girls with the name (Y/N).”

“There’s a lot of girls with that name, Reg,” I said, chuckling.

“Yeah, but only one I care about.”

I didn’t know what to say, because I had never seen Reggie like this before. He was funny, and sweet, and charming, and I was really starting to fall for him. I just couldn’t shake the feeling that this was all a game to him. Why wouldn’t he commit? These thoughts trailed with me through my front door, into my bedroom, and invaded my sleep.

 

“So, I’ll see you after your football game tonight? Or maybe I’ll come and cheer on the hottest guy on the team,” I joked, nudging Reggie, who was leaned against the back of the couch in our school’s lounge room. We never got to spend a lot of time together in school, or during the day, so I was thankful for these few minutes after class to be with him. I thought that maybe, after Tuesday night, he’d be different. More open, somehow. Ready to show the world what we had. Or what I thought we had. But boy, was I wrong.

Reggie sighed, a little sound, and pulled his phone out of his pocket. “Or..we could hang out tomorrow, on Saturday. I could drive us up to Sweetwater River.” I noticed he kept his attention on his phone, not making eye contact with me. Abruptly, he put his phone in his pocket and stood up, shrugging on his letterman jacket.

“I gotta go.”

“Oh, uh. Ok,” I said, more like a question, confused. Reggie wasn’t acting like his usual self, and I was starting to wonder why. I got up too, and walked the few steps over to him. I got on my tippy toes, so he would kiss me, but I guess he didn’t get the hint.

“Uh..bye.” And just like that, he was gone.

I stumbled a little, off balance on my toes, and visibly frowned. I kept replaying the last few days in my mind, trying to think of a reason why Reggie would be acting like this, but I came up blank. The only other thing I could think of was that he was mad at me, but I didn’t think I had done anything wrong, either. We barely even saw each other during the week. Maybe he sensed that I wanted more out of our..whatever it was, and was scared? Or he didn’t feel the same, and didn’t know how to let me down..

Steeling myself, and fixing my hair, I made up my mind that tomorrow, when we got to the river, I would ask Reggie what was wrong, and talk to him about our relationship. He either liked me or he didn’t, but he couldn’t keep stringing me on.

 

We pulled up to the river around noontime, our ride tense. Reggie hadn’t said much, and I hadn’t either, thoughts of how our conversation could go streaming through my head, like some sort of role play reel.

We walked a little way near the bank, not saying anything, the sun glinting off the ripples, dancing amongst my denim jacket. All this time thinking about what to say to Reggie, and I blurted it out, messing it up.

“What is this?”

“Well,” he said, stopping. He moved his arm in an arc. “This is a river..”

“No..no. I mean. Us. What are we doing?”

“Walking..?” he ventured, clearly not understanding. I huffed and started on my way again, hands in my jacket pockets.

“No. Well, yeah, but.. What are we, Reggie? What is this?” I gestured to him and back to me, hand still in pocket. “Are we..a couple? Is this a date or? Am I just a hookup that..”

“ _No_ ,” he said, adamant. He positioned himself in front of me and put his hands on my shoulders, forcing me to look up at him. “You’re not a hookup. I just..” He trailed off and sighed, looking towards the water. He ran his hand through his hair, not knowing how to phrase his thoughts.

“I really like you, (Y/N). I _really_ , like you.” The words came out slowly, so I’d understand his intent. “I think maybe that..I could even fall in love with you but, there’s just. Something. In the way.”

“What?” I said after a beat, walking around him, forcing him to look at me this time. “What is it? Another girl, or, a guy even, I don’t know. Are you..,” I stopped, taking a deep breath to force out my thoughts. “Are you embarrassed of me?”

“No, (Y/N). God no. It’s just..” he made a face like he was disgusted, but at what, I didn’t know. “I can’t tell you. The other guys would kill me.”

I had no clue what he was talking about, but I was done. I needed some time to clear my head, gather my thoughts so they wouldn’t come bursting out, so I started walking away, taking care that my sneakers didn’t get mud on them. I trudged back to his car, but figured that was a stupid idea. I’d just walk home, clear my head and the air.

“Fuck..” I heard a voice call out from behind, and then, “a book.” I whirled around, but Reggie was keeping his distance, a few feet away from me.

“It’s a book. Of girls. The football team has a book that records how many girls they’ve dated or..that they’ve slept with. And they rate them. On a scale of 1 to 10. It started a few years back, but I _never_ took part in it. I _swear_ , (Y/N).”

I was dumbfounded. A book..? I couldn’t believe what I had just heard. I was fuming, pulse racing in my ears. Even if I wasn’t in that book, other girls were, and it was.. _revolting_.

“ _WHAT_? So..so, what? I’m not in that book now, but I’m _going_ to be? I’m just some pawn for teenage boys to..to lust over? Give points to, like I’m in..some kind of _dog_ show? 8 points because she’s a good kisser, 5 points because she likes to read!” I was aware that I was on the verge of shouting, but I couldn’t help myself. “I mean it, Reggie. You’re fucking _despicable_ ,” I all but spat out.

“I know, (Y/N), but, god. You have to believe me,” he pleaded. “This is why I never took our relationship any further. Why I would only see on the weekends, or during the night. I..I was trying to protect you from it. I didn’t want to see your name written down next to a number. You’re so much more to me than that.”

“Ok, so, what about all those other girls? That’s just _fine_ to you?”

“No! Absolutely not.”

"Then why haven’t you done anything about it? You’re captain. You can kill this thing. Kill this so called locker room culture.”

“I don’t know,” he admitted, voice quiet. Silence hung in the air, between us, all around Sweetwater River. When he didn’t offer up anything else, I turned on my heel and left.

 

When I walked into school on Monday, I was immediately grabbed by Cheryl, and pulled into a corner near some lockers.

“Did you hear?” she asked, excitedly.

“No? What happened?”

She bit her lip to contain her smile, but it didn’t help. She looked up, down the hall, and I followed her gaze. Chuck Clayton and a few other football players were being escorted through the school, and people were taking pictures on their phones, whispering amongst each other.

Cheryl leaned in to whisper, too. “Chuck sticky mapled Veronica, and we learned about a book that the players used to score girls in. Her, Betty, and I did a little B&E and went to look for it, but Reggie Mantle, of _all_ people, was the one to lead us to it. He said that he thought it was disgusting, and he couldn’t take it anymore. Apparently someone got _pissed_ at him about it, and he finally decided to speak up.”

I didn’t need to hear any more. One, I was elated that this was happening, and that justice was being served, and two, I wanted to find Reggie, right away.

“I’ve gotta go,” I said, hastily, and clutching my books to my chest, I ran to find him.

Reggie was alone at his locker, stuffing books into it, not caring to watch the parade that was currently happening a hall over. He didn’t look particularly happy, but he didn’t look distressed either, which I took as a good sign. I walked over to him slowly, and leaned up against the locker next to his.

“Hey.”

“(Y/N)! Hey,” he said, voice holding shock and surprise.

“I wanted to..apologize, for..” I started, but Reggie cut me off.

“No. I want to apologize. What I did to you wasn’t right, and me not speaking up about that book wasn’t right, either. All the girls are calling me a hero but,” he shrugged, absentmindedly. “To tell you the truth, I did it mostly because of you. I don’t know if I would have turned it in otherwise.. Not that I thought it was right but..I guess I just needed a push, or something.”

I smiled. High school boys could be so dumb.

“I was wondering, um..if I didn’t _completely_ ruin my image, I’d like to take you out. Tomorrow night. On a real date. As like, you know. A couple. Or whatever.” His trying-to-be-cool act totally failed.

“Hm.. I’ll tell you what. Hold my hand while you walk me to class, and buy me a chocolate milkshake at Pop’s later, and I’ll _consider_ it,” I joked, knowing full well that I’d take him up on the offer.

“Deal.” He smiled down at me and took my hand, kissing the back of it.

We had to walk past the hoard of students that gathered in the hallway to get to class, but seeing the look on all the girls faces, I could help but swell with pride. Even though it wasn’t his plan since the beginning, I was elated that Reggie finally did the right thing, even if it took me yelling at him to do it. I looked up at him and smiled.

“Maybe Mantle the Magnificent isn’t such a bad nickname after all,” I said, jokingly referring to what he called himself.

He laughed and let go of my hand, in favor of putting his arm around my shoulders and pulling me in closer by his side.


End file.
